Apparatus for determining the fitting characteristics of an item of hosiery



Apnl 19, 1955 G. M. JONES, SR 2,706,402

APPARATUS FOR DETERMINING THE FITTING CHARACTERISTICS OF AN ITEM OF HOSIERY Filed llay 14, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet l 2/ ////%//A x AF l ///.Z{ (4////////// /fl/ Ga ither'flz Jarzeadn INVENTOR I I I ATTORNEYS- Aprll 1955 e. M. JONES, sR 2,706,402

APPARATUS FOR DETERMINING THE FITTING CHARACTERISTICS OF AN ITEM 0F HOSIERY Filed May 14, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS 2,706,402 CTERISTICS April 19; 1955 G. M. JONES, SR APPARATUS FOR DETERMINING THE FITTING CHARA Filed May 14, 1952 OF AN ITEM 0F HOSIERY v 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Gailizerjlfi d'om'n INVENTOR April 19, 1955 G. M. JONES, SR 2,706,402

APPARATUS FOR DETERMINING THE FITTING CHARACTERISTICS OF AN ITEM 0F HOSIERY Filed May 14, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Gaz'ikefi-M. J'arzesln INVENTOR BY /1 I 7 I I ATTORNEYS United States Patent APPARATUS FOR DETERMINING THE FITTING CHARACTERISTICS OF AN ITEM OF HOSIERY Gaither M. Jones, Sr., Burlington, N. C.

Application May 14, 1952, Serial No. 287,721

8 Claims. (01. 73-88) This invention relates to apparatus for determining the fitting characteristics of an item of hosiery and more particularly to apparatus for determining the amount of stretch in different areas of an item of hosiery.

It is well known that hosiery is subject to different degrees of stretch in different areas thereof and that unless care is exercised in the knitting of the hosiery too little stretch may be produced which will cause breakage of the threads and result in unsightly runs when the hosiery is worn. It is also well known that too great a stretch of the hosiery produces an ill fitting item of unsightly appearance when placed in use. As a consequence the different areas of an item of hosiery must be carefully shaped to provide adequate stretch in the hosiery and at the same time avoid the production of bulges which would present an unsightly appearance. As a consequence hosiery producers must constantly watch the production and periodically test samples thereof to provide adequate stretching in the areas which are subject to stretch and yet avoid the production of oversize portions in the finished product. The stretching characteristics of the synthetic yarns now widely employed in producing hosiery items has made it essential that the stretching characteristics of the finished item be held within limits which will produce properly fitting garments and at the same time avoid the danger of breaking the yarns particularly in the areas where the greatest stretch occurs.

The primary object of this invention is to measure the amount of stretch in various areas of an item of hosiery so that the manufacturer may adjust his machines to meet the requirements of the industry.

Another object is to avoid over stretching of the area of hosiery being tested and to indicate when the area being measured has attained its maximum allowable stretch.

The above and other objects may be attained by employing this invention which embodies among its features a stationary hosiery engaging member, a movable hosiery engaging member mounted adjacent the stationary hosiery engaging member to move toward and away from said stationary hosiery engaging member, a weight operatively connected to the movable hosiery engaging member for moving it away from the stationary hosiery engaging member, means connected to the movable hosiery engaging member for moving it against the effort of the weight toward the stationary hosiery engaging member and for cushioning the movement of the movable hosiery engaging member under the influence of the weight.

Other features include a gauge operatively connected to the movable hosiery engaging member for indicating the degree of stretch in an area of hosiery supported on the hosiery engaging members and signalling means operatively connected to the movable hosiery engaging member for indicating when an area of an item of hosiery mounted on the members and stretched thereby has attained its maximum degree of stretch.

In the drawings,

Fig. l is a perspective view of a hosiery testing device embodying the features of this invention,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the mounting of the device illustrating the relationship of the indicator to the movable arm,

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view through the arm mounting and showing the indicator partially in section,

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 4-4 of Fig. 3,

Fig. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of the control valve and actuating treadle,

Fig. 6 is an enlarged side view of the pneumatic signalling device,

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 7--7 of Fig. 6,

Fig. 8 is an enlarged sectional view through the control valve, and

Fig. 9 is a schematic view of the device.

Referring to the drawings in detail a base 10 has secured thereto and extending upwardly therefrom a pedestal 12 supporting at its upper end a platform 14. A head designated generally 16 is secured to the platform 14 and comprises a base member 18 carrying a pair of upwardly extending spaced parallel ears 20 between which is fixed an elongated arm 22 carrying adjacent its end remote from the head 16 a hosiery engaging member 24 which preferably takes the form of a ring having a knurled external surface for contact with the item of hosiery to be gauged. Mounted intermediate its ends between the ears 20 for rocking movement about a horizontal axis is an elongated lever arm 26 which moves in a vertical are adjacent the arm 22 and carries adjacent its end adjacent the hosiery engaging member 24 a second hosiery engaging member 28 which in the preferred form of the invention comprises a ring having a knurled outer surface. Carried by the lever arm 26 adjacent the end thereof remote from the ring 28 is a weight 30 which normally urges the lever arm 26 to move in its vertical arcuate path in a direction to cause the hosiery engaging member 28 to recede from the hosiery engaging member 24. It will thus be seen that when an item of hosiery encircles the hosiery engaging members 24 and 28 as suggested in Fig. l, the weight 3! will stretch the area of the item of hosiery engaged by the hosiery engaging members and will move downwardly until its movement is arrested by the item of hosiery when it has reached its limit of stretch.

In order to measure the degree of stretch in the item of hosiery I mount on the ear 21 a gauge designated generally 32 which comprises a housing 34 having a window 36 therein which is provided intermediate its ends with an index pointer 38. A drum 4% is mounted on the ear 21 to rotate about a horizontal axis within the housing 34 and carried by the drum is an annular row of indices 42 which cooperate with the index pointer 38 in indicating the degree of stretch in the item of hosiery supported on I the hosiery engaging members 24 and 28. A drive pinion 44 is carried by the drum adjacent the ear 21 for rotation with the drum about the axis thereof and meshing with the drive pinion is a toothed quadrant 46 which is mounted for oscillation about the horizontal axis about which the arm 26 moves. Formed in the ear 21 and opening through the upper edge thereof is an arcuate slot 48 which lies concentric about the axis about which the quadrant 46 moves and carried by the lever arm 26 is a stud 50 which extends through the arcuate slot 48 and the quadrant 46 to cause the quadrant to move in unison with the lever arm 26. It will thus be seen that as the lever arm 26 moves in its vertical arcuate path, the quadrant 46 will also be moved to rotate the drum 40 within the housing 34.

A bar 52 is mounted on the ear 20 to move longitudinally thereof in a path which inclines to the horizontal and carried by the bar adjacent the end thereof adjacent the arm 22 is a laterally extending handle 54 by means of which the bar may be moved in its inclined path. A hook 56 is carried by the bar adjacent the end thereof remote from the handle 54 and extends upwardly therefrom and lies in the path of movement of the lever arm 26 to arrest movement of the lever arm 26 when the hosiery engaging member 28 is in a selected position relative to the hoisery engaging member 24.

In order to move the lever arm 26 against the effort of the weight 30 and cause the hosiery engaging member 28 to advance toward the hosiery engaging member 24, I mount on the pedestal 12 a laterally extending supporting arm 58 upon which is supported a cylinder 60 which extends upwardly from the supporting arm 58 and has mounted therein for reciprocation a piston 62. A piston rod 64 is connected at one end to the piston and at its opposite end it is pivotally connected as at 66 to the lever arm 26 between the head 16 and the weight 30 so that when fluid pressure is admitted to the cylinder below the piston 62, the lever arm 26 will be moved in its vertical are against the etfort of the weight 30 until it enages the stop 56 at which time the hosiery engaging member 28 will have approached the hoisery engaging member 24 to the desired extent.

Mounted on the base 16 adjacent the pedestal 12 is a fluid control mechanism designated generally 68 which includes a valve 70 having a fluid intake port 72, a fluid discharge port 74 and an intermediate port 76 which is connected through the medium of a suitable duct 78 with the cylinder 60 below the piston 62 therein. A rotary element 80 is mounted Within the body of the valve 70 and is provided with a passage 82 which in one position establishes communication between the port 72 and the port 76 and in another position establishes communication between the port 74 and the port 76. The port 72 is connected through the medium of a suitable duct 84 to a suitable source of fluid supply and leading from the port 74 is a fluid discharge duct 86 in which is connected a suitable bleeder valve 88 having an adjustment 90 by means of which the rate at which fluid is discharged through the duct 86 may be regulated. A suitable foot treadle 92 is operatively connected with the rotary element 80 of the valve for moving said element and causing the passage 82 to communicate with the selected ports.

Mounted on the supporting arm 58 adjacent the cylinder 60 is a signalling device designated generally 93 which comprises a chamber 94 which is open at one end and closing the open end of the chamber 94 is a diaphragm 96 of a suitable flexible material. A duct 98 establishes communication between the interior of the chamber 94 and the duct '78 so that as fluid under pressure is admitted to the cylinder 60 the diaphragm 96 will flex and bulge upwardly. Mounted on the chamber 94 enclosing the diaphragm is a cover 109 having an axial upstanding tubular guide 102 in which a plunger 104 is mounted for vertical sliding movement. This plunger is provided at its lower end with a head 106 which rests on the diaphragm 96 so that when the diaphragm 96 is flexed under the influence of fluid within the chamber 94, the plunger 104 will be moved upwardly. A plug 108 is threadedly engaged in the guide 1112 adjacent the upper end thereof and mounted within the guide 102 between the upper end of the plunger 184 and the plug 108 is a compression coil spring 110 which yieldingly urges the plunger 104 downwardly against the diaphragm 96. A bell 112 is mounted on the upper end of the tubular guide 102 and carried by the plunger 104 and extending laterally therefrom is a pin 114 which moves with the plunger in a vertical path. Carried by the tubular guide 102 adjacent one side thereof and extending horizontally are vertically spaced guide studs 116 and 118. A trip plate 120 is mounted on the guide studs 116 and 118 for upward and outward movement and carried by the plate 120 and projecting into the path of movement of the pin 114 is a tongue 122 which when the plunger 194 is moved upwardly is engaged by the pin 114 to shift the plate 120 upwardly and outwardly on the guide studs 116 and 118. A rectractile coil spring 124 is connected at one end to the cover 160 and at its opposite end to the plate 120 at the upper right hand corner thereof when'viewed in Fig. 7 so that after the plate has been shifted upwardly and has returned to its lowered position, the tongue 122 will be in the path of movement of the pin 114. Hence it will be seen that when the pin 114 descends under the influence of the spring 119, the plate 120 will rock about the axis of the pin 118. A striker 126 is carried by the plate 120 for movement in a path intersected by the bell 112 so that as the plate 126 rocks about the axis of the pivot 118 the striker will strike the rim of the bell and produce an audible signal. Since the downward movement of the pin 114 and the plunger 104 is dependent upon the flexing of the diaphragm 96 toward the chamber 94, it will be evident that so long as the fluid pressure Within the chamber is maintained at a predetermined value, no downward movement of the plunger will take place, but that just as soon the pressure of the fluid within the chamber 94 falls below a predetermined value, the plunger 164 will be moved downwardly under the influence of the spring 110 and cause the pin 114 to engage the tongue 122 to rock the plate 120 against the effort of the spring 124 until the pin passes beyond the tongue 122 at which time the plate will rock under the influence of the spring 124 and cause the striker 126 to strike the bell 1112 adjacent the rim thereof to produce an audible signa In use the area of an item of hosiery to be gauged is placed in encircling relation about the hosiery engaging elements 24 and 28 as suggested in Fig. 1 while the rotary element 80 of the valve establishes communication between the port 72 and the port 76 so as to elevate the piston 62 and introduce fluid under pressure into the chamber 94. With the area of the item of hosiery to be meas ured thus placed on the hosiery engaging elements 24 and 28, the rotary element of the valve 70 is moved to establish communication between the ports 74 and 76 so that the fluid may flow out of the cylinder 60 and chamber 94 through the discharge duct 86. By adjusting the control element in the bleeder valve 88, it is obvious that the rate at which the piston 62 descends under the effort of the weight 30 may be regulated so that the stretching effort of the hosiery engaging elements 24 and 28 on the area of the item of hosiery will be granually applied to prevent over stretching of the hosiery. When the area of the item of hosiery has reached its limit of stretch, the downward movement of the weight 30 will be arrested and such arrest of the downward movement of the weight will cause a reduction of fluid pressure within the cylinder 60 and the chamber 94 so that the diaphragm 96 may move downwardly and cause the pin 114 to pass the tongue 122 and rock the plate so as to produce an audible signal. Upon noting the audible signal, the operator may readily determine the degree of stretch in the area of the item of hosiery being tested by noting the position of the indices 42 on the drum relative to the index pointer 38. In this way the stretch in the area of hosiery being tested may be readily determined.

While in the foregoing there has been shown and described the preferred embodiment of this invention it is to be understood that minor changes in the details of construction combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for determining the fitting characteristics of an item of hosiery comprising an elongated substan tially horizontally extending arm carrying adjacent one end a hosiery engaging member, an elongated lever pivotally connected intermediate its ends to the arm adjacent the end thereof remote from the hosiery engaging member for movement in a vertical arcuate path adjacent the arm, a cooperating hosiery engaging member carried by the lever adjacent the first mentioned hosiery engaging member, a weight carried by the lever on the side of the pivotal connection remote from the hosiery engaging members, fluid actuated means connected to the lever adjacent the weight for moving the lever against the etfort of the weight, and a manually actuated valve for admitting fluid to and discharging fluid from the fluid actuated means.

2. Apparatus for determining the fitting characteristics of an item of hosiery comprising an elongated substantially horizontally extending arm carrying adjacent one end a hosiery engaging member, an elongated lever pivotally connected intermediate its ends to the arm adjacent the end thereof remote from the hosiery engaging member for movement in a vertical arcuate path adjacent the arm, a cooperating hosiery engaging member carried by the lever adjacent the first mentioned hosiery engaging member, a weight carried by the lever on the side of the pivotal connection remote from the hosiery engaging members, fluid actuated means connected to the lever adjacent the weight for moving the lever against the effort of the weight, a manually actuated valve for admitting fluid to and discharging fluid from the fluid actuated means, and means carried by the valve and operative between the discharge passage thereof and the fluid actuated means for retarding the rate at which fluid is discharged from the fluid actuated means.

3. Apparatus for determining the fitting characteristics of an item of hosiery comprising an elongated substantially horizontally extending arm carrying adjacent one end a hosiery engaging member, an elongated lever pivotally connected intermediate its ends to the arm adjacent the end thereof remote from the hosiery engaging member for movement in a vertical arcuate path adjacent the arm, a cooperating hosiery engaging member carried by the lever adjacent the first mentioned hosiery engaging member, a weight carried by the lever on the side of the pivotal connection remote from the hosiery engaging members, and signalling means carried by the arm and operatively connected to the lever for indicating the arrest of movement of the lever under the influence of the Weight by an item of hosiery encircling the hosiery engaging members.

4. Apparatus for determining the fitting characteristics of an item of hosiery comprising an elongated substantially horizontally extending arm carrying adjacent one end a hosiery engaging member, an elongated lever pivotally connected intermediate its ends to the arm adjacent the end thereof remote from the hosiery engaging member for movement in a vertical arcuate path adjacent the arm, a cooperating hosiery engaging member carried by the lever adjacent the first mentioned hosiery engaging member, a weight carried by the lever on the side of the pivotal connection remote from the hosiery engaging members, for moving the lever and exerting pull on an area of an item of hosiery which encircles the hosiery engaging members, and means connected to the lever for elevating the weight and retarding the speed at which it descends and hence the rapidity with which stretching force is exerted on the area of the item of hosiery encircling the hosiery engaging members.

5. Apparatus for determining the fitting characteristics of an item of hosiery comprising an elongated substantially horizontally extending arm carrying adjacent one end a hosiery engaging member, an elongated lever pivotally connected intermediate its ends to the arm adjacent the end thereof remote from the hosiery engaging member for movement in a vertical arcuate path adjacent the arm, a cooperating hosiery engaging member carried by the lever adjacent the first mentioned hosiery engaging member, a Weight carried by the lever on the side of said pivotal connection remote from the hosiery engaging members for moving said lever and exerting a pull force on an area of an item of hosiery which encircles the hosiery engaging members, a cylinder and a pneumatically actuated piston in said cylinder connected to the lever intermediate the length thereof for elevating the weight and retarding the speed at which it descends and hence the rapidity with which stretching force is exerted on the area of an item of hosiery encircling the hosiery engaging members.

6. Apparatus for determining the fitting characteristics of an item of hosiery comprising an elongated substantially horizontally extending arm carrying adjacent one end a hosiery engaging member, an elongated lever pivotally connected intermediate its ends to the arm adjacent the end thereof remote from the hosiery engaging member for movement in a vertical arcuate path adjacent the arm, a cooperating hosiery engaging member carried by the lever adjacent the first mentioned hosiery engaging member, a weight carried by the lever on the side of the pivotal connection remote from the hosiery engaging members, for moving the lever and exerting pull on an area of an item of hosiery which encircles the hosiery engaging members, means connected to the lever for elevating the weight and retarding the speed at which it descends and hence the rapidity with which stretching force is exerted on the area of the item of the hosiery encircling the hosiery engaging members, and means carried by the arm and connected to the lever for registering the amount of stretch in the area of the item of hosiery encircling the hosiery engaging members.

7. Apparatus for determining the fitting characteristics of an item of hosiery comprising an elongated substantially horizontally extending arm carrying adjacent one end a hosiery engaging member, an elongated lever pivotally connected intermediate its ends to the arm adjacent the end thereof remote from the hosiery engaging member for movement in a vertical arcuate path adjacent the arm, a cooperating hosiery engaging member carried by the lever adjacent the first mentioned hosiery engaging member, a weight carried by the lever on the side of the pivotal connection remote from the hosiery engaging members, for moving the lever and exerting pull on an area of an item of hosiery which encircles the hosiery engaging members, means connected to the lever for elevating the weight and retarding the speed at which it descends and hence the rapidity with which stretching force is exerted on the area of the item of hosiery encircling the hosiery engaging members, means carried by the arm and connected to the lever for registering the amount of stretch in the area of the item of hosiery encircling the hosiery engaging members, and signalling means operatively connected to the arm for indicating the arrest of the descent of the weight by the area of the item of hosiery encircling the hosiery engaging members.

8. Apparatus for determining the fitting characteristics of an item of hosiery comprising an elongated substantially horizontally extending arm carrying adjacent one end a hosiery engaging member, an elongated lever pivotally connected intermediate its ends to the arm adjacent the end thereof remote from the hosiery engaging member for movement in a vertical arcuate path adjacent the arm, a cooperating hosiery engaging member carried by the lever adjacent the first mentioned hosiery engaging member, a Weight carried by the lever on the side of the pivotal connection remote from the hosiery engaging members, for moving the lever and exerting pull on an area of an item of hosiery which encircles the hosiery engaging members, means connected to the lever for moving said lever and advancing the cooperating hosiery engaging member toward the first mentioned hosiery engaging member against the eifort of the weight, means connected to the lever moving means for permiting the Weight to descend at a selected rate of speed to expand the area of the item of hosiery encircling the hosiery engaging members, means connected to the lever moving means for signalling the arrest of the descent of the weight by the area of the item of hosiery encircling the hosiery engaging members, and means carried by the arm and connected to the lever for registering the eX- pansion of the area of the item of hosiery encircling the hosiery engaging members.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,817,617 Gosch Aug. 4, 1931 2,187,914 Reitan Ian. 23, 1940 2,406,386 Keopnick et al. Aug. 27, 1946 2,533,332 Steiding Dec. 12, 1950 2,615,334 Gift Oct. 28, 1952 

